Buy a Doritos Locos Taco, Feed a Dream at Taco Bell

The Doritos Locos Taco, the Taco Bell menu item that changed the way America thinks about crunchy tacos five years ago, is now changing how people can do good.

Taco Bell is celebrating the fifth anniversary of the Doritos Locos Taco by paying it forward with its Feed a Dream promotion, making it easier than ever to give back. Beginning March 23 and lasting for two weeks, Taco Bell will donate 10 cents for each à la carte Doritos Locos Taco purchased, up to $500,000, to the Taco Bell Foundation’s Live Más Scholarship to fund the passions of young people. Eat a taco, feed a dream—it’s that simple to make a difference.

“We know how much our fans love the Doritos Locos Taco,” says Brian Niccol, chief executive officer at Taco Bell Corp. and Chairman of the Taco Bell Foundation. “We’re equally passionate about the Live Más Scholarship, which is why we decided to try something new, joining the scholarship with our most successful product for the benefit of today’s young innovators, creators and dreamers. Doing good is as easy as eating your favorite taco.”

More than a fundraiser, the Feed a Dream campaign brings a new approach to Taco Bell’s marketing and advertising, enlisting Live Más Scholarship recipients to create the television commercials and taco packaging and wrap. By leveraging the relationships and creative opportunities a nationwide marketing campaign provides, Taco Bell is not only financially supporting the passions of Live Más Scholarship recipients, but also connecting them with top professionals in their fields of study and putting their passions into practice.

“Beneath all our creativity and irreverence is a company with a beautiful heart,” says Marisa Thalberg, chief marketing officer at Taco Bell Corp. “Now, for the first time ever, we are uniting our products and our purpose of supporting the passions of young people in a really fresh and meaningful way. As we continue to grow the Live Más Scholarship program, our vision is that it becomes ‘for the kids, by the kids.’ In that spirit, all of the communications you will see for this Feed a Dream initiative were either created or inspired by our first class of Live Más Scholarship recipients.”

To create the Feed a Dream campaign, students participated in a creative workshop in Chicago, where they worked side by side with veteran advertising and marketing creatives to develop the campaign’s ad concept and script. Scholarship recipients were also involved in the filming of the ad in California, performing key jobs from behind-the-scenes strategizing and set development to starring roles. Recipients also created three unique designs that will be featured on the Doritos Locos Taco exclusive taco holster packaging and wrap during the promotion. The 30-second television commercial will air nationally on March 26.

“Not only was I invited to help come up with the Feed a Dream ad, but my artwork is also being used for the Doritos Locos Taco holsters,” says Devon Woodrum, 22. “When I first applied to the Live Más Scholarship, I never imagined it would mean so much more than the money—I’m getting access to all of these unbelievable opportunities and experiences that are helping me advance my passion and career.”

Taco Bell and the Taco Bell Foundation turned traditional scholarships on their head in 2015 with the launch of the Live Más Scholarship—a scholarship for students whose passions may not necessarily fit into the conventional “academic” or “athletic” scholarship categories. The Feed a Dream campaign is another example of how the Live Más Scholarship defies conventional scholarships by creating unprecedented real world opportunities for recipients, who have participated in a variety of exciting events over the past year, including:

At the MTV Movie Awards, a scholarship winner and future Hollywood filmmaker worked with social media influencers to create the first ever fan-fueled film.

During the 2016 VMAs pre-show, a fashion designer outfitted the event staff, a music technology major supported sound engineering and an aspiring photographer captured compelling footage that was featured on MTV.com.

At the 2017 NBA All-Star Taco Bell Skills Challenge, a photography major joined professionals in his field court-side to snap shots of top NBA champions, a media maven took over the NBA All-Star Twitter handle and a sculptor even designed the trophy that was presented to the Skills Challenge winner.

During the Feed the Beat show at the largest music festival in Austin, one music business student served as event manager, while her fellow scholarship winner put his art classes to the test before a crowd as a live muralist.

Taco Bell fans are invited to feed a dream by visiting their local restaurant March 23 to April 8, purchasing an à la carte Doritos Locos Taco, sharing a picture using #FeedADream and encouraging young innovators, creators and dreamers to apply for the Live Más Scholarship. Funds raised from the Feed a Dream promotion will enable the Taco Bell Foundation to award $1.3 million this year to 155 students through scholarships ranging from $5,000—$25,000.

News and information presented in this release has not been corroborated by QSR, Food News Media, or Journalistic, Inc.